Welcome to Roses & Thorns. All books receive honest reviews, regardless of our sources. We are no longer accepting submissions. While the blog will remain live, I cannot continue reviewing books. My own writing is suffering from keeping up with two blogs. I will post my last review on May 29, 2017. Thank you Rose and Donna for your help, authors for the (mostly) great reading, and readers for following us.

Roses & Thorns

Sunday, December 27, 2015

The
Cinderella Body Club is a new romance series of the timeless Cinderella story
reimagined where four girlfriends make a wish on a locket. They all wish they
were beautiful, and look like the girls they've always wanted to be—the belles
of the ball.

Cinderella
Had it Easy: Jennifer Conner

Cami
works in the basement of a television station which airs history documentaries.
With scars on her face that she acquired in a car accident as a child, Cami
finds it easier to be by herself. She gets into a heated debate with the
handsome new host of the show she'll be working on. Is Lance the knight in
shining armor who can drag Cami out of her safe zone? With no carriage and no
helpful mice, she has to rely on the magic from her grandmother's locket.

Cami
only has twenty-four hours in her Cinderella body, what will she do with it? Will she
keep hiding or can she learn how to live life?

Spellbound
Cinderella: Angela Ford

Tess
Andrews lacked self-confidence. She believed she was “Plain-Jane.” Her last
date ended before it began when he asked if she'd set him up with one of her
model clients. Tess owns a small employment agency. Some of her clients are
models, which only make her insecurities worse. Internationally-famous model
photographer, Parker Walsh, always leaves Tess speechless and in a rush to run
and hide. She only does business with his assistant.

Her
savior—Girls Night; once a week Tess gets together with her friends who are all
in similar situations with no luck in love. One night they wish on a magical
pendant to be that perfect girl they’d like to see in the mirror. They wake up
in their “Cinderella Bodies”—sexy and better looking, but they only have until
midnight to make the most of it. Her “Cinderella Body” boosts her confidence to
invite Parker to lunch. He surprises her with an invite to his charity fashion
show. Tess has everything for her magical night—her Prince, the dress, the
shoes but she worries when the clock strikes twelve if he'll like the “real”
her.

Second
Chance Cinderella: Sharon Kleve

Raven
St. James is a Phlebotomist in a prominent Portland, Oregon hospital. She is
petite, with jet-back hair, green eyes, and extremely shy. She dreams of being
like the nurses on the daytime hospital shows—perfect. Tall, blonde, blue eyed,
with big breasts.

Dr.
Quinn Taylor admires Raven's skill, and the caring she shows with her patients,
but can't get her attention. Until the day she winks at him.

Raven
only has twenty-four hours in her Cinderella body. What will she do with it?
Will she become the confident, strong, flirty girl she wants to be? Will she
get the guy she's always wanted? Dr. Quinn?

Cinderella's
Enchanted Night: Amber Daulton

Annalise
Gallagher wants Elijah Burleigh. Plain and simple. She's watched him from afar
for months, and her friends call her “his own personal stalker.” Then she makes
a wish on a magic pendant for a full-body makeover. Transformed into the
gorgeous knockout she's always wanted to be, she asks Elijah out on a date and
wears a haute couture gown straight from Paris to his friend's wedding.

With
just twenty-four hours on the clock, her enchanted night fades into the morning
hours and everything crashes down around her. Annalise harbors a shameful
secret and Elijah demands the truth with the veil of magic gone.

The
truth, however, could destroy her fragile confidence and push him away forever.

About the Authors:

Jennifer Connor: Jennifer Conner is a
best-selling Northwest author who has over sixty short stories and books in
ebook, print, and audiobooks. She lives in a hundred year old house that she
grew up in. Her semi-small town holds an interesting mix of resident
hillbillies, yuppies and Navy Seals.

Angela Ford: Angela Ford originates from Nova Scotia—“Canada’s Ocean Playground.” Her love of the ocean and sunsets are
always in her heart and give her inspiration. Her love for words keeps her
turning the page. She is never without a book, whether she’s reading or
writing. Now residing in Ontario, Angela works in Finance—numbers by
day—words by night.

Sharon Kleve: Sharon Kleve was
born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with
her husband. She’s a multi-published author of paranormal and contemporary
romance. When not writing, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner
with her cat and a good book, or in the kitchen baking sourdough bread or
bagels.

Amber Daulton: Her mind is a
wonderland of romance and adventure, laughter and awesome ways of kicking a guy
when he's down. She reads, writes and enjoys contemporary, paranormal and
historical novels alike. Writing takes up most of her time, when not at her “tedious
day job in the retail industry.” She states, “I probably wouldn't be too sane
without my computer and notebooks. After all, what's a girl to do when there
are people jabbering away in her head and it's hard to shut them up? Write!
Nothing else works.”

Review by Rochelle:

The
Cinderella Body Club was a collection of delightful romantic romps with
well-drawn characters and a page-burning pace. It’s difficult to review these stories
without spoilers. I think I’ll just say buy and read The Cinderella Body Club.
It’ll make you feel good.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

In
the fullness of time I have gone from victim to survivor of child abuse, but it
was hard work getting there.

I am
fortunate; I found good friends who helped me on my journey.

Read
how my life was turned from one of horror to one of happiness.

Author’s
note:
This is a stand-alone work of fiction. It is a survivor story followed by a
romance. It is different from my other books.

Without
the darkness there is no light. So we go through the horrendous start to get to
the happy ending. Tina eventually finds some lovely friends who have their own
stories to tell.

I have
written this to offer hope to survivors of child abuse, and to help inform the
general public of the signs to watch out for. There is so much help out there;
you can overcome your bad experiences.

Because
it is for a good cause, this book will permanently be sold for 99c/99p (or
equivalent in other currencies).

*My
proceeds from the first month of Broken & Damaged Love’s sales will be
donated to HAVOCA* **THIS WILL NOW BE EXTENDED; ALL MY PROCEEDS FROM THE
SALE OF THIS BOOK UNTIL THE END OF 2015 WILL BE DONATED TO HAVOCA**

***Please
note that due to the theme of child abuse and sexually explicit scenes, this
book is recommended for readers of 18+***

I have
named the chapters, so if you’re sensitive to certain bits/have triggers you
should at least have a warning and the option to avoid the parts you really
can’t face yet.

About the Author:

Hi,

I'm an
indie author of romance novels. Each of my books is stand alone, so don't worry
about reading them in any particular order. Just choose a theme which appeals
to you. I'm writing about love from lots of different angles.

I have
a full time job, so my writing can only happen in my little leisure time.
Fortunately, I have a very supportive loving husband who ensures I'm still fed.

I
really, truly appreciate every review that I get, so please do comment once
you've read my work.

Review by Rochelle:

Broken and Damaged Love is, indeed, a
serious book about serious subjects. It delves into the mind of a pedophile,
his wife, and his victim. Tina’s abuse starts when she’s quite small and her
mother works nights leaving her home alone with her father, who turns to her
for the comfort and relief he’s not receiving from his wife. Of course, Tina
doesn’t realize there’s anything wrong with the attention she receives from her
father until her teacher starts explaining sex in Health class in school. That’s
when she finally asks if it’s wrong for a child to do those things with an
adult. The teacher realizes Tina must be asking the question because she’s a
victim of sex abuse and whisks her down to the principal’s office.

That’s
when the real nightmare begins. The saying “Ignorance is bliss” unfortunately
is true in some cases. Tina’s classmates call her names; she has to face her
father in court and testify against him. Her mother blames her for his ensuing
incarceration and the poverty that results from the loss of income when he’s no
longer able to run his computer consulting business from home.

Unable
to trust men, Tina feels like a freak. It’s not until she becomes friends with
Frank, a gay artist in college that she begins to heal. They share the stigma
of being different, of having been hated and abused by their families, and of
having been ostracized by their peers. Frank’s roommate Peter, a psych major,
finally has the patience to erode Tina’s walls and bring true, healthy love
into her life.

It’s a
shame such an important book was self-published. Once again I was dizzied by
head-hops and dismayed by grammar errors. I was also somewhat distracted by
author’s notes warning readers when the narrative was getting heavy, but I
understood that was there for people who have lived through such abuse and may
not be able to read those chapters at this time. Were I such a victim, I’m sure
I’d have appreciated the heads’ ups.

I also
believe that since the proceeds are going to charity, the author could raise
the price. I’m sure people wouldn’t mind paying another dollar or two for a
good cause.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

When Jaine Andersen
proposes a new marketing role to the local amusement park, general manager
Dylan Callahan charms her into filling Cinderella's glass slippers for the
summer. Her reign transforms Jaine's ordinary life into chaos that would
bewilder a fairy godmother. Secretly dating her bad boy boss, running wedding
errands for her ungrateful sisters, and defending herself from the park's
resident villain means Jaine needs lots more than a comfy pair of shoes to
restore order in her kingdom.

About the Author:

Stacy
Juba loves to write about Characters at a Crossroads: individuals who are
finding themselves and getting on the right life path after overcoming
obstacles. Her goals are to entertain readers of all ages as well as inspire
them through her mystery, romance and contemporary fiction books for adults,
teens and children. She has written about ice hockey, sibling rivalry and
sportsmanship, teen psychics, U.S. flag etiquette for kids, and determined
women sleuths solving mysteries. Her latest novel is Fooling Around With Cinderella, the first in the Storybook Valley
chick lit sweet romance series. Stacy is always happy to hear from readers.

Review by Rochelle:

After
reading a batch of serious post-apocalyptic thrillers, would-be literary
masterpieces, and tight suspense, it was so nice to read a romantic comedy that
was written just for fun and delivered the humor, light-hearted, family
feelings I got from Fooling Around with
Cinderella.

The
youngest of three, Jaine Andersen (spelled with an “i” so she won’t be a “plain
Jane”) our heroine always feels left out and taken advantage of by her older
sisters, the twins. Shauna’s a pharmaceutical rep and single mother. Bree’s an
attorney, planning a large wedding. Of course Shauna’s the matron of honor, but
she’s too busy to plan the shower or bachelorette party, so she fobs the responsibilities
onto Jaine along with caring for her daughter Amber when Jaine loses her job
due to downsizing.

It’s
during an outing with Amber to Storybook Valley that Jaine realizes the beloved
amusement park of her childhood needs better marketing. She prepares a
presentation for the owners and ends up not only landing the job of Marketing
Director, but also that of Cinderella. She also catches the eye of the CEO and
owners’ hunky son in a personal way. Jaine has quite a summer planning
marketing strategy for the park, working on her sister’s wedding plans, hiding
the fact that she’s Cinderella from her family, keeping her relationship with
her boss professional, and foiling the plots of her lifelong nemesis who also
works at the park and wants the boss’s job.

Fooling Around with Cinderella kept me burning
through the pages and laughing. I highly recommend it for a fun read that will
leave you wanting more. And though it’s Book One in the Storybook Valley
series, it’s not a cliffhanger! I can’t wait to read the stories of the other
denizens of Storybook Valley, but I don’t have
to read them to know how the book ends. Woo Hoo! Thank you, Ms. Juba!